Snake's First Kiss
by GrellsLilSecret
Summary: Snake is musing about his past when he gets his first kiss. Very soft and fluffy.


Snake had never quite fit in with other people.

He had learned this very early in his life. Some of his earliest memories was the scared look that would cross upon other mothers' faces when he walked by, their eyes sliding across his unusual eyes and the visible scales upon his cheeks. They would wrap their arms about their own children protectively as the roughly yanked them away. It was as if they were afraid of him, but it would be years before he realized they were treating him as if he was the carrier of some horrible disease. He would have asked his mother, but she had long been lost in the depths of a bottle to even notice his existence. He doubted that she even noticed when he had simply left one day and probably thought the vague memories of having an odd son was just some alcohol induced fantasy.

Isolating himself from people, he ventured out into the country, and that's when he first met his friends. It happened when he had fallen asleep on a large flat shaped rock one night. After the sun had gone down, it had gotten cool, but he found the rock still held some heat. Although he had more comfortable in his life, he had been exhausted and had fallen asleep almost immediately. When he awoke the next morning, he found that he wasn't alone. A beautiful green snake that shimmered like emeralds in the morning sun, had curled up against his arm, but he found that he wasn't afraid. Those scales were so like the patches on his own face, and he reached out gently to touch his sleeping partner. At his touch, the snake moved slightly and hissed, but he found that he could understand the creature as clearly as he had anyone before.

_I curled up with you because you were warm, but I'd rather you'd not touch. _

"I'm sorry," Snake apologized, "but your scales are beautiful."

The snake lifted its head slightly and stared at him, flicking its tongue several times. _You're an odd human_, it finally said, _almost more like a snake_.

As it slithered away, he couldn't help but think of what it had said. He almost was more like a snake then any person he had ever seen, so he cast his name away like a snake loses its old skin. Easily he forgot the name he had been saddled with at birth and became Snake in that moment.

Times actually went a little better for Snake. He stayed away from people most of the time as he made more and more of his cold-blooded friends. He was actually talking to a small group of his new friends when an odd man came upon them. "Come here, boy," the man had instructed. Snake hesitated because he had never been able to trust people in the past, but still a part of him desperately wanted to belong. A few of his friends followed as he walked behind the man, who was nice at first by giving him the first hot meal that Snake had eaten in weeks. When Snake had grown sleepy, the man offered him a small mat in what looked like a small, dark room, and Snake had accepted the offer. He crawled in for a nap, but he awoke he saw that what he had assumed to be a room had actually been a covered cage. With the tarp gone, he was trapped by bars and a locked door. His friends were trapped as well, but they were not alone. There were new snakes – larger and more dangerous newcomers, but all of them were captives of the man. He was put on display for people to stare at as if he was nothing more than an animal himself, and it was likely he would have stayed that way if Joker and the others had not decided to rescue him. He became a part of the first streamers, and an overnight celebrity of their tight-knit group.

Everyone was good to him, and it was nice to not always be alone, but he still felt like there was some sort of barrier between him and the others. Ever so often they would sneak away, but he was never invited to tag along. He never asked because he didn't want to do anything to jeopardize his friendship with the closest thing he had ever had to a real family, but this exclusion still bothered him. Plus, he still was unable to trust others.

But now they were all gone.

It happened overnight. One day they were all there and ready to put on a show and the next the circus had faded as if it had been nothing more than a magician's trick. Snake had waited around for a bit, hoping for their return, but eventually had gone looking. While he still hadn't found his pseudo family, he had found his way to Black and Smile. It was an odd reunion, but they had since welcomed him into the manor. He had jobs to do, but Snake had never minded being busy. Besides, the other servants were nice to him and treated him like he belonged.

But he still felt like an outsider.

He just wasn't like everyone else. Even with his serpent friends, he was lonely and he began to wonder if anything or anyone could help him. He was still pondering all this when Smile had visitors at the manor. A tall man and his daughter who had come from Paris to London. It was the girl's first time, and she was obviously excited, but she still seemed terribly shy. Although she was 16, she wasn't engaged as of yet, but with her lovely black hair that fell in a straight, ebony wave down the back of her pink dress, it probably wouldn't be long. Her eyes were the same beautiful grey as a stormy sky and her smile, although shy, was pretty and friendly. Snake had no idea why he noticed her so much or why his face felt hot when she looked her direction.

He didn't have much contact with the girl, whom he learned was named Marie, in the beginning. He heard the other servants talking, and Oscar was quick to bring him news from time to time. Marie and her father were something called 'new money.' Apparently the man had inherited money from a rather eccentric man who had wanted to give his money to a simple toymaker. There were no kids to argue with the decision, and he had used the money to improve his beautiful creations. There was some interest in his designs for future products of the Funtom Company, which was why he had come here with his daughter. Marie was a well-mannered girl, but so far she had been more likely to engage in conversation with Mey-Rin or Finny. It was whispered that perhaps she felt more comfortable with the servants than the young earl.

One unusually warm day, Snake got his first chance to speak with the girl himself. Normally, he would retire to the greenhouse to help his friends get warm, but today he thought the garden might be nice. Sitting in the soft warm grass, he watched as Emily moved about in the grass and he could tell that she was happy.

"Lovely snakes," a soft voice suddenly announced. It was proper English, although the accent was quite thick.

Snake froze as Marie suddenly stepped from behind a tree and took a seat on a stone bench nearby. Emily slipped up his arm, and he felt her tongue tickle his ear as she spoke to him. "Thank you," he said in a voice slightly higher than his usual tone, "...says Emily."

Marie giggled softly. "You're welcome, Emily," she said, "And what about you? You're name's Snake, correct? How are you doing this lovely day?"

Snake froze as he realized that this question was meant for him. He so rarely spoke for himself, and now this pretty girl, who was sitting so close without seeming scared, was asking him questions about himself. Desperately he searched for answer.

"Marie," a voice called, "Please come here a moment."

She jumped up quickly. "Coming, papa!" she cried, and she left as quickly as she appeared.

In one sense, Snake felt relieved, but he also was a little disappointed. She had actually wanted to talk to him, but he just couldn't seem to summon up the courage. Tomorrow, she would be gone and he would never had a chance to see her again.

Just as he had though, Marie and her father prepared to leave the next day. He was standing outside along with the others to watch her leave, but his heart felt oddly heavy. He had never experienced these feelings before, and he had no idea what was wrong. All he knew was that he didn't want her to leave just yet. All he wanted was at least one chance to tell her that she was really pretty and seemed very sweet, but his time was up. Trying not to show his feelings, he stood silently as Marie wished them all farewell.

Before Snake could realize what was happening, Marie suddenly moved away from the carriage and walked over to him. Without warning, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodbye, Snake," she said, "I wish we could have talked more." With those words, she turned and left with a swirl of that beautiful black hair. Snake watched helplessly as she climbed into the carriage and disappeared down the road.

Emily was hissing in his ear again, and Snake started to shake his head. He wanted to insist that his body temperature hadn't risen, but he could feel the burning in his cheeks. Deep down, he knew that he was blushing.

It didn't matter though. This had been his first kiss.


End file.
